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Saturday, February 2, 2008

Mini Review: Life as We Knew It

I am not lying when I say that Life as We Knew It is required reading in my department. Seriously, it's one of the first things we ask anyone new. "Have you read it?!" and if they haven't, we assure them that they must. Not only is Life as We Knew It a thrilling story of survival, it will stick with you for a long, long time.

I believe I originally picked up LAWKI because of its cover. I mean, take a look. That cover sells itself. You shouldn't need to know anything more.

But in case you do want to know something more...

LAWKI is told in diary format by Miranda. When the story begins, Miranda is just another anykid, going to school, coming home... and wondering why everyone is so freaked out by this moon thing that's happening. See, an asteroid is going to hit the moon. And everyone's talking about it. The science teachers are all atwitter and everyone's going to gather outside and watch the asteroid explode against the side of the moon or whatever it's going to do.

But when the asteroid hits, it hits with such force that it pushes the moon closer to the earth. And from there everything changes. Due to the moon's new position, the tides and weather is all out of whack. Tsunamis hit many major cities and eventually the world is thrust into a nuclear winter. There's no electricity, no gas for cars. The temperature drops and Miranda's city is covered in snow. There's no way of knowing if there is anyone else alive, so Miranda and her family must learn to survive on their own...

It's haunting and once you read it, you'll be checking the moon for days. Make sure you have a bag of chocolate chips stashed in the pantry and pick up Life as We Knew It. It's required reading of the best kind.

Need more convincing? Check out reviews at Three Good Rats and bookshelves of doom. Also note that the sequel is due out June 1. (Any ARCs floating around?? I (and my department) would love you forever...)

What I've Been Reading

Our leadership team at the library is reading this book for a team book discussion early in the new year. Cy Wakeman has a lot of insightful and relevant things to say about leaders helping their employees deal with realities (instead of...

The other day I was browsing Netflix, wondering what to watch and thought I just might watch Cosmos over again. Listening to this audiobook was a good substitute. Tyson does what he sets out to do here: boils down his massive, technical ...

This thriller set in Southern Indiana and written by actress Krysten Ritter definitely kept me at the edge of my seat. Something's wrong in Abby Williams's hometown of Barrens, Indiana. Her ecological legal team has been brought in to in...

Grace Hopper made amazing contributions to the field of computer science that helped develop computers as we use them today. This would make a super family read, making the subject accessible to young children, if parents are interested ...